


A Little Off Target

by prettycheese21



Series: Accidental Hurts [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: "Wanted" References, Bets & Wagers, Especially when the Avengers are involved, Gen, Helpful Bruce Banner, Ignoring of Safety Protocol, Injury, Reader-Insert, Slight Mention of Blood, Steve Rogers' Look of Disapproval, These things never end well, Tony Being Tony, Tony Is Not Helping, but not really, but when is he ever?, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-17
Updated: 2015-01-17
Packaged: 2018-03-07 21:32:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3183902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prettycheese21/pseuds/prettycheese21
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clint has impeccable aim... with a bow. But with a gun? That's another story.<br/>When Clint makes a bet with Natasha, things don't go as planned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Little Off Target

**Author's Note:**

> Here's another story. All I can say for this one is: I tried.  
> I was thinking of making this into a series (in fact, as of right now it is). The title is a work in progress (since my editor isn't getting back to me). I don't know if when I'll be able to get around to writing/posting more since I've been busy with school stuff lately. That doesn't mean I'm not going to try!  
> Anyway, I've gone off topic.  
> Give it a read. Maybe give it a kudos and/or a review (if you'd like).  
> Overall, just enjoy!

   The Avengers all had some time off. It wasn't really time off, more as it was a lull in crazed villain activity. Clint, Natasha, and (Name) were all currently in the shooting range, which was a connection to the gym. It was going as it should; Clint and (Name) were practicing with their bows and Natasha was refining her skills with a gun.  
    
    Clint's aim was spot on, as usual, with every arrow hitting the center of the target each time. This made (Name) look like an amateur by comparison. Well, technically, she was. She'd only recently decided to try her hand at archery, just to pass the time. That was about a month ago. Her arrows were hitting around the second and third rings on the target. Natasha's aim was scary accurate. Most of the time. There was a key percentage of focus she had to have on the target before it was all up to luck.  
    
    It appeared that today she was experimenting with said percentage because she missed her target by about a foot.  
    
    Clint noticed this, let out a laugh and said, "You're slipping, Nat," before letting another arrow fly at the target.  
    
    One of things people learn quickly about Natasha is that she doesn't take kindly to having her skills insulted, even if it is in a playful manner, "I'd like to see you pull of this shot."  
    
    He stopped shooting, lowering his bow, and looked at Natasha, who had also stopped shooting. He smirked as it seemed he thought of something, "Let's make a bet."  
    
    Natasha crossed her arms, "What are the terms?"  
    
    "We both attempt the trick shot you just tried. Whoever gets closest to the center wins. If I win, you have to go up to Tony and make out with him for thirty seconds," Clint said, before chuckling at his own genius.

 

    "Fine. But if _I_ win, _you_ need to go up to Tony and make out with him for thirty seconds," Natasha's smile only grew when the chuckling stopped and a slightly grossed out look crossed his face.

    Clint covered it up quickly with a snarky reply, "Well, it's a good thing I'm going to win."

    Natasha rolled her eyes, "In your dreams, bird-boy. You may be good with a bow, but you're a lousy shot with a gun. Always have been."

    "We'll see who has the lousier shot," he stated as he walked down to the end of the range and changed to a clean target. Turning back, he made his way behind Natasha, who was ready to shoot.

    Natasha got into her stance; back straight, shoulders back, feet shoulder width apart. She brought the gun up and looked at her target. Her eyes scanned the surface, looking for imperfections that could hinder the shot she was about to make, making her adjust the gun slightly by lowering it. All of that analysis and the making of adjustments happened in a matter of about three-four seconds. After finalizing her aim she whipped her head around, as she had done before, so she was facing away from the target. Her finger squeezed the trigger, sending the bullet through the air and into the target twenty feet away.

    The bullet hit the line between the second and third ring of the target. By no means was that Natasha's best shot, but it was still better than the last one she took. She gave Clint a smirk before passing the gun off to him, "Your turn."

    Though Clint's face was rather impassive, he was nervous now. She wasn't lying when she told him that he was better with a bow than a gun. That's one of the big reasons why he stuck to the bow, but he wasn't about to let that stop him. He didn't want to lock lips with Tony for a multitude of reasons, the big one being his pride.

    With that in mind, he too got in his stance. It was nearly identical to Natasha's, since it was a standard stance adopted among SHIELD agents that has been proven to be more effective. He too only took a few seconds to line up his shot, also part of the SHIELD skill standard. Clint let the bullet fly, confident that he'd win. There was a distinct difference though between the two of them, one that would prove harmful in the coming moments.

    Natasha is right handed, while Clint is left handed. The area on Natasha's dominant side was vacant, while Clint's was not. Though, while caught in the moment, they didn't realize this. It was the scream that made them remember that (Name) was shooting a bow next to Clint.

    They looked to where the scream came from, eyes going wide. Standing by her target, (Name)'s hands were wrapped around one of her arrows, as if she were going to pull it out. The reason for their staring? That was most likely because of the bleeding bullet wound that now occupied the middle of her thigh.

    "(Name)?" Natasha called out to her questioningly.

    It seemed when she called out her name that whatever was holding (Name) up vanished, because she seemed to instantaneously collapsed onto the floor. They jogged over to where she fell and kneeled next to her. (Name) was on her back, eyes clenched shut, hands clutched tightly around her injured leg, with a facial expression that was contorted in pain. Feeling guilty, Clint asked, "Are you alright?"

    Opening her eyes, she carefully lifted her hand away from her leg and shakily brought it to her line of sight. After looking at it for a minute, she let it drop back down next to her. "Oh I'm fine, Clint," she began, "Aside from the fact that I'm _bleeding_ and have a _bullet wound_ in my leg."

    Before anyone else could do anything, the door on the other side of the range opened. In came Steve and the rest of the team, who were armed and ready for a fight. Upon seeing that there was no imminent threat, they lowered their weapons and looked around the room in slight confusion. The first person to spot the trio on the floor was Bruce, whose normally quiet voice was now loud and easily heard, "Oh my god!"

    Bruce ran over to them, the others not far behind. He kneeled down in the gap between Clint and Natasha, triaging (Name) as he asked, "What happened?"

    "What happened was that these two," (Name) gestured with her head, "Made a bet to see who had the better aim with a gun. Needless to say, Natasha won because she _didn't shoot me_!"

    "Wait," Tony started, hand on chin in a thinking fashion, "So... Clint shot you?"

    "Oh my god, he figured it out! It's a miracle!"

    "But Brother Clinton has the best eyes I have seen," Thor stated in a tone of questioning disbelief.

    "Apparently not," Tony smirked.

    "Hey, why are you blaming me?" Clint questioned, "(Name)'s the one who went out on the range while we were shooting."

    "(Name)...," Steve began in a tone that just oozed disapproval.

    "I'm sorry, Steve, but I didn't think I was in danger. I figured I would be fine, considering that these people are _master assassins_. Their job requires them to have perfect aim. And did anyone notice I was a good ten feet away from their target? I honestly didn't think that, if by some divine intervention they were to miss, that they'd miss by that much. But no. Clint just had to go and curve his fucking bullet like Angelina Jolie did in Wanted."

    "Really Legolas? You missed by that much? That's hilarious!" Tony began laughing.

    "I may not be good with a gun, but I am good with a bow. And I haven't missed with my bow yet," Clint said in a threatening tone.

    "There's a first time for everything!" Tony stated, still laughing.

    "It looks like it missed the important stuff," Bruce cut in, leveling Tony a look that made the laughter cease.

    "I beg to differ!" (Name) exclaimed, "It hit my leg! I think that's pretty important!"

    "I meant important anatomically. Your skin and muscle will heal, and you won't bleed to death since it didn't hit any major arteries. Speaking of which, we need to get that bullet out before it causes any more damage."

    "That would be unpleasant," (Name) responded, face paling slightly.

    "It would be," Bruce responded. He turned to Steve, "The shock is starting to catch up to her. I'm going to run ahead and get everything prepped. Can I trust you to carry her to my lab?"

    "Can do, Doc," Steve responded. He walked over towards (Name) just as Clint and Natasha backed away. Careful to avoid agitating her leg, he picked her up and followed out the door that Bruce had seemingly slipped out of moments ago, the others trailing behind him like a string of ducklings.

 

~Time Skip~

 

    Bruce came out from the lab to address the rest of the team. He sighed, running a hand down his face, before he said, "She's fine now. That bullet was in there good. It was hard to get it out, but thankfully, not impossible. With a few weeks off her feet and a slow return to her normal physical activities, she'll be good as new."

    Everyone, particularly Clint, let out a breath of relief. "What's she doing now?" Steve asked.

    "She's resting now. I have a feeling she'll stay that way for a while, so why don't we let her do that in peace. Why don't we go watch a movie?"

    "A movie sounds nice," Steve responded, giving a small smile.

    With that, they all turned around and began to quietly make their way to the elevator. As they walked, Tony looked at everyone, confusion written in his features, "Are we really not going to talk about the fact that Clint _missed_? Like _missed a shot_? By almost _ten feet_?"

    It was after that comment that Tony fell face first onto the floor, arms flailing on the way down. A chuckle spread through the group, lightening the mood considerably. If anybody noticed that it was Natasha's foot that had jut out in front of Tony just moments before his fall, they didn't say anything.


End file.
